Fairly new iMac SLOWWW..

Trying to determine cause or how to get this iMac up to speed. Bought it at Christmas time, but have been so busy haven't had time to deal with it.

Bought a new one at Best Buy, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5. 8GB DDR3, and running 10.9.. I've read so many negative things about 10.10, so i haven't upgraded yet (most of which speed related which is what concerned me).

I really don't do much on this machine but web, minor photoshop, and it hosts my PLEX external HDD.

This machine is constantly lagging, constantly waiting on something. If i see that spinning beach ball one more time, i'm going to freak. Response time is sluggish.. Quite honestly, my 4 year old work laptop running XP is faster. And that is discouraging considering how much i spent on this machine.

Looking for any tips.. anything to look for. I reboot constantly, i leave no apps running, I run Onyx weekly.. I'm at a loss..

Trying to determine cause or how to get this iMac up to speed. Bought it at Christmas time, but have been so busy haven't had time to deal with it.

Bought a new one at Best Buy, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5. 8GB DDR3, and running 10.9.. I've read so many negative things about 10.10, so i haven't upgraded yet (most of which speed related which is what concerned me).

I really don't do much on this machine but web, minor photoshop, and it hosts my PLEX external HDD.

This machine is constantly lagging, constantly waiting on something. If i see that spinning beach ball one more time, i'm going to freak. Response time is sluggish.. Quite honestly, my 4 year old work laptop running XP is faster. And that is discouraging considering how much i spent on this machine.

Looking for any tips.. anything to look for. I reboot constantly, i leave no apps running, I run Onyx weekly.. I'm at a loss..

EDIT: Specs..

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac14,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: IM141.0118.B11

SMC Version (system): 2.14f19

Click to expand...

If you run any cleaning, antivirus or other third party maintenance utilities that may be your problem. If you do, find the developers instructions for uninstalling and uninstall.

If you want to post an EtreCheck report we can look over any obvious issues. You can get it by clicking EtreCheck

Also considering going SSD. Can I add a SSD drive to my current setup, load OS on SSD, and use currently installed HDD as a second drive? This would allow me to get a smaller SSD drive for OS and Apps (to control the expense), and use the current stock HDD for file storage.. Thoughts?

By far the easiest way to add an SSD, is to purchase an SATA SSD that you like. Put it in an external USB 3.0 case. Use that for your boot drive. (be sure to get an external case that is designed for use with SSDs, with a feature called "UASP support". That will allow your SSD to perform at its best...

You have Parallels - and VMWare Fusion - AND Crossover. I suggest that you decide on one, and uninstall the others.
If you really have a need for multiple VMs, you can do several at once, while having just one app. Parallels seems the most used (and for some, the best performing of the lot).
And, if you do use several VMs, particularly at the same time, you should be thinking about adding more memory. 8GB of RAM may not be enough for what you do.
Make sure that your software that is used for monitoring (Hands Off?) is up-to-date.
Have you watched your Activity Monitor to see if you have particular processes that are taking lots of processor time, or simply using lots of your memory? The Memory Pressure graph can give you an idea that your Mac might be better with more RAM installed. The graph will be yellow, or even red, indicating lots of RAM is active.
Don't misunderstand here - OS X is designed to use as much of your memory as you have available. But, the Memory Pressure graph will show you, particularly when you get a lot of delays, or lag, if the memory is being asked for more than it can handle. You might see a grand improvement if you upgrade to 16 GB. Max is 32GB, but not many users really benefit from that much. 16GB is easy, you already have 2 x 4GB, so you can add another 2 x 4GB to give you 16 GB.

Finally, you seem to have a lot of software that starts up with your user. (Login items) You could review those, and remove the ones that you don't need as startup apps, from your Login Users (under Users & Groups pref pane)
If you need all to start, without your intervention, then there's another reason to upgrade to more than 8GB....

Trying to determine cause or how to get this iMac up to speed. Bought it at Christmas time, but have been so busy haven't had time to deal with it.

Bought a new one at Best Buy, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5. 8GB DDR3, and running 10.9.. I've read so many negative things about 10.10, so i haven't upgraded yet (most of which speed related which is what concerned me).

I really don't do much on this machine but web, minor photoshop, and it hosts my PLEX external HDD.

This machine is constantly lagging, constantly waiting on something. If i see that spinning beach ball one more time, i'm going to freak. Response time is sluggish.. Quite honestly, my 4 year old work laptop running XP is faster. And that is discouraging considering how much i spent on this machine.

Looking for any tips.. anything to look for. I reboot constantly, i leave no apps running, I run Onyx weekly.. I'm at a loss..

EDIT: Specs..

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac14,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: IM141.0118.B11

SMC Version (system): 2.14f19

Click to expand...

Your lag could be due to one or more of your items that you have in your login items and/or startup items.

Remove all your login items and startup items first.

Open Disk Utility application and perform a Repair Permissions.

Reboot and see if the lag issue stops.

If the lag has stopped, add back in one at a time your login items and startup items. You should be able to find which item or items is causing the lag with this method.

* use the app called 'app cleaner'
* delete all your cookies
* try to avoid porn sites
* clear your downloads history
* clear your trash can
* and try not to have so much stuff on your desktop screen...all this should make your mac faster and do this every month, you have to be on top of this

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